DALLAS -- Late in Tulane's 41-38 loss to SMU on Saturday at Ford Stadium, just a yard separated the Green Wave from its first bowl berth since 2013. Facing a first and goal at the SMU one-yard line with just under ten seconds left, it seemed that berth was all but assured. Tulane moved the ball at will against the Mustangs' defense, scoring on all but one of its four second-half possessions.

Fate had other ideas. Tulane quarterback Jonathan Banks rolled to his left and scrambled, evading one tackler. As he tried to reach the goal line, he was tackled. It looked like he scored, but the side judge thought otherwise, marking Banks down just short of the threshold. The clock ran out, but the officials sent the play to the replay booth for once last look.

"Our coaches in the box saw it and thought it was a touchdown," Tulane head coach Willie Fritz said. "I saw it on the big screen and I thought it had a chance to be a touchdown."

Meanwhile, his players stood by, waiting on the result of the review.

"I was just hoping and praying," linebacker Ray Juan Marbley said. "That's the only thing you can do when stuff like that is in the hands of those guys."

The booth ruled that the call stood. SMU won. For the fourth straight year, Tulane was going to be home for the holidays.

"Sometimes it comes down to inches," Fritz said after the game, his voice gravely. "It's got to be beyond a shadow of a doubt."

After former LSU receiver Trey Quinn hauled in a touchdown pass from Ben Hicks to put the Mustangs ahead with 2:05 left in the game, Banks nearly completed the comeback. He led his team on an 11-play, 72-yard drive on which he completed four of five passes. The junior finished with a career-high 314 yards passing. Fritz was proud of how he played.

"He got better and better throughout the year," Fritz said. "I'd like to have a few more practices with him but he did a good job today."

The last play wasn't the only bad break for Tulane on Saturday. Early in the first quarter, safety Roderic Teamer picked up a Braeden West fumble and returned it for an apparent touchdown. A review showed that West's knee was down, negating the score. SMU went on to score a touchdown, putting Tulane in an early hole.

"We have goals that we set for ourselves and we came up short," Teamer said. "But we fought hard. We at least have pride in that. We kept on battling, and to come up shot is just a part of life."

The Green Wave finish the season at 5-7 and 3-5 in American Athletic Conference play. Despite the final setback, Fritz has hope for the future.

"We're going in the right direction," Fritz said. "There's no question about it."